1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an apparatus and method for securing and holding a cylindrical tank and in particular to an apparatus and method for preventing the dislodgement of the tank during an earthquake.
2. Description of the Related Art
During earthquakes there is a serious concern with water heater tanks falling over or twisting sufficiently to break their gas connections. This is particularly true in the Southern California area of the United States where most water heaters are located in a compartment within the house frame. If the gas line is separated from the water heater there is a real threat of an explosion due to the free flowing gas and the flame of the water heater.
In the past there have been various approaches to holding water heater tanks firmly in place to prevent dislodgement or having the gas line separate. One approach has been to use a metal band that is nailed to the studs in a nearby wall. The metal band of that approach has openings at the ends and nails are driven through the openings after the bands have been placed around the water heater.
A similar system for maintaining the cylindrical tank in place is shown in Southern California Edison "Customer Update" dated April 1993. In the Southern California Edison system, two bands of metal plumbers tape are fitted to completely encircle the tank of the water heater. The bands are each formed from two metal securing straps having holes drilled in the ends through which a bolt passes to secure the bands to the studs of a wall or other supporting surface.
The above described systems have disadvantages and difficulties that are not ideal for preventing the dislodgement of a water heater tank during an earthquake. For example, in the systems utilizing nails, the nails can easily be ripped out of the wall by the movement of the water heater, particularly during a violent earthquake where the movement of the water heater exerts a great amount of force on the nails. Similarly, in the Edison system there is no means for reducing the stress on the attachment points of the bands to the supporting surface. These stress points are particularly susceptible to breaking when the stress resulting from the movement of the cylindrical tank is great and thus fail to support the cylindrical tank. Moreover, the Edison system is complex requiring the use of a number of tools for assembly and is also time consuming to assemble.